Did the detention of the original suspect in the Brown shooting have a negative impact on the investigation?
The FBI initially detained the man who had applied for a gun permit, but some believed that may have slowed the investigation.
- The Trump administration is investigating Brown University for safety violations following the mass shooting.
- The investigation focuses on whether the university complied with the federal Clery Act.
- Brown University has placed its public safety director on administrative leave pending an external review.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Trump administration has launched an investigation into security protocols on the Brown University campus following the Dec. 13 mass shooting that left two students dead and nine others injured.
The investigation is looking into what happened on campus before and after the shooting, alleging the university may have violated federal law.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said on Social Media
What is the Trump administration researching at Brown University?
More specifically, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Office of Federal Student Aid “will investigate whether Brown violated Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act, also known as the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), which requires institutions of higher education to meet certain campus safety and security-related requirements as a condition of receiving federal student aid.”
A statement posted by the Ministry of Education goes on to say:
“Hours after the shooting, public reports appear to indicate that Brown University’s campus surveillance and security systems were not up to adequate standards and that the suspect may have fled while the university was unable to provide useful information regarding the profile of the suspected assassin.”
“Additionally, numerous Brown students and employees have reported that the university’s emergency notifications regarding the active shooter have been delayed, raising serious concerns about the safety alert system. If true, these deficiencies constitute a serious violation of Brown’s responsibilities under federal law,” the statement continued.
The Department of Education ordered Brown to submit extensive records by Jan. 30, including criminal records, annual safety reports, and internal protocols for responding to emergency calls and proactively responding to active shooters.
The news comes as Brown University announced it would place Director of Public Safety Rodney Chatman on administrative leave while an outside investigation into the shooting is conducted. Former Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements has been named interim chief of the Brown Police Department.
“Deeply committed” to campus safety
President Donald Trump previously criticized the university for having “very few surveillance cameras” in a post on Truth Social.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said the university is “deeply committed” to campus safety and security. She said one of the university’s two emergency notification systems sent text messages and emails to 20,000 people after the shooting. She also said a second siren system was not activated for fear people would run for safety into the building where the shooting occurred.
Paxson also said there are 1,200 surveillance cameras on campus. Officials said the attack occurred in an older part of the facility with few or no cameras.
The investigation comes nearly a week after the body of a gunman also suspected of killing an MIT professor was found in the Boston area.
Police in Providence, Rhode Island, said Claudio Neves Valente, 48, entered a building used for Brown’s engineering and physics program on Dec. 13 and fired at least 44 shots from a 9 mm handgun, killing two students and wounding nine others.
He was found dead in a rented storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, after a five-day search.
Contributor: Ryan Patrick Jones, Reuters.
